HELP WITH BUYING A MAZDA RX7

[Ryan81]

Im looking into buying a mazda RX7 import type R (1.3?) , ive recieved a few nice insurance qoutes for quite a good price, but im wondering if anyone can help me with understand the running costs of owning one, i understand i have to replace a few parts every few thousand miles, could someone please let me know the true running cost of owning one, and what needs to be changed every certain distance, and also any common faults...

I would be very appreciative, just need piece of mind that i know what im commiting too

Thanks
Ryan81

[Vixpy1]

Economy - Hopeless
Reliability - Fairly Hopless
Grin Factor - Epic

[Ryan81]

do you know any of the main parts that need regularly changing ? and what it costs?

[Wadeski]

yes, engines

in truth, a really well maintained one, serviced (by previous owners and by you) at a specialist can be reliable. THIRSTY, but reliable.

however, if at some point in the past someone has fannied about with it....

if you are looking for cheap speed, i would also consider an MR2 turbo or a 200SX...

[Hi RX7]

I would suggest you check out the Mazdarotary web site, there are people there who run,race and track day RX7's on a day to day basis and you will find all the info you could possibly want by just posting a newbie question. Having owned one for a few years I can tell you a fully sorted one is a great track day car and on the roads has a grin factor which for the money is hard to beat. They are still in my opinion one of the best looking cars on the road but you do have to buy with greater caution than usual and budget for an engine re-build at some time during your ownership and most of all find a good local specialist in looking after these cars.

[rotarymazda]

I've had my RS model (2000) for 4+ years, kept it standard. These later models have some power and reliability improvements (solenoids, cooling and oil system).

Annual service £250+VAT (at RX7 specialist, Jimmys in Norfolk), costs more elsewhere,
Petrol 20mpg
Oil usage - no need to top up until the annual service (only do 3K miles per year)
No faults or components replaced (other than service and wear&tear items)
Gets through a set of tyres and brake pads in 10-15K miles.

If the engine blows, plan on £3k rebuild if standard.

mazda rotary club is the best place for info. There is a hints and tips section for buyers.

Jimmys in Norfolk sells cars with fresh rebuilds and warranties, worth a look.

[Dodd90]

Drift yooo!

[kayzee]

rotarymazda said:

Annual service £250+VAT (at RX7 specialist, Jimmys in Norfolk), costs more elsewhere,

Is that for an intrim? Just wondering what the clutch and cambelt changes are like on these. Does the rotery engine even have a cambelt, sorry for my n00bness!

They have always been my favourite looking Jap motor, but I just think of them being quite old know and tbh I don't have the knowledge, time or tools to keep one going.

[Marf]

No cams - no cambelt

[JontyR]

kayzee said:

Is that for an intrim? Just wondering what the clutch and cambelt changes are like on these. Does the rotery engine even have a cambelt, sorry for my n00bness!

They have always been my favourite looking Jap motor, but I just think of them being quite old know and tbh I don't have the knowledge, time or tools to keep one going.

The cam belts need to be changed every six months....otherwise you'll find the hydraulic tappets start to become noisy! Also the head gaskets are quite prone to going...so they need to be changed every 3 months! lol

Servicing is quite cheap on these cars
Oil and filter is £30
Plugs are £33
Gearbox oil is £24
Diff Oil is £12
Usually about 2-3 hours to sort those
Fuel filter is a bit more of a pain, cheap to buy £15, but can be up to 2 hours to change due to its location. Good opportunity to change the diff bushes if they haven't been done.

Apart from that not a lot else to do!

Pads are approx £100 a pair.
Clutch is about £250 and is a 3-4 hour job to replace.

I do recommend getting the car aligned regularly

Fuel is as bad as your right foot is heavy. Oil usage is minimal...so don't think you'll be topping up every week, although they are designed to actually use the oil to lubricate the seals.

If the car you are buying hasn't got a recent engine rebuild then knock them down, as a rebuild can start from £3k. If the oil is changed regularly, warmed up properly, then it will last for a good time!

If in doubt, you can get a compression test. If you email me, I can drop you over the number of a guy that will test it for you. He does a lot of tests for Mazda dealerships. It will show up any abnormalities within the engine.....it isn't going to be assurance that the engine is going to last forever, but it will tell you if it is doomed!

[Tib]

I too am very interested in buying one of these motors. Can anyone confirm what JontyH is saying? Fortunately enough I'm quite close to re-worx in Portsmouth, so they can deal with any real issues that will arrive. But if I'm doing cambelt changes every 6 months then I am going to have to think long and hard about it.

Equally there is an issue with the MPG. I am aware that it's completely pfaff, but just how pfaff? I've heard some people say you'll be lucky to average 14 on a run, then I've heard others say that 20 is attainable on the motorway. Either way they're rubbish round town but I'm fortunate enough that I work from home, so I'm not too dependant on a car.

[Hi RX7]

Someone somewhere is taking the piss there are no cambelts on the rotary engine.

[Tib]

Ta. I did think that, but thought it's probably worth checking ha.

[Hi RX7]

Tib said:

Ta. I did think that, but thought it's probably worth checking ha.

No problem, the only RX7's with cambelts are those that have gone over to the darkside and stuck a V8 in it.

[JontyR]

Tib said:

I too am very interested in buying one of these motors. Can anyone confirm what JontyH is saying? Fortunately enough I'm quite close to re-worx in Portsmouth, so they can deal with any real issues that will arrive. But if I'm doing cambelt changes every 6 months then I am going to have to think long and hard about it.

Equally there is an issue with the MPG. I am aware that it's completely pfaff, but just how pfaff? I've heard some people say you'll be lucky to average 14 on a run, then I've heard others say that 20 is attainable on the motorway. Either way they're rubbish round town but I'm fortunate enough that I work from home, so I'm not too dependant on a car.

There was an LOL put after my insane ramblings! I just find it funny the number of times rotary conversations come up in the pub, usually started with...."My mate says" and from there on in the hilarity starts!

MPG is dependant on how my lead is in your right shoe! I can see less than 4mpg on a circuit, but I have also run the same engine in with almost 30mpg. The rule of thumb is the bigger the smile the smaller the mpg

Whereabouts are you based? I'm near Portsmouth if you fancy a chat PM me

[Twilight1]

It's quite thirsty and with these fuel prices expensive to run, although its not going to get any cheaper to run RX-7 in the future.

Fun car though what brings you huge smile every time.

[rotarymazda]

kayzee said:

Is that for an intrim? Just wondering what the clutch and cambelt changes are like on these. Does the rotery engine even have a cambelt, sorry for my n00bness!

They have always been my favourite looking Jap motor, but I just think of them being quite old know and tbh I don't have the knowledge, time or tools to keep one going.

I do get the oil and filter changed at 6 months as an interim. (Not all the oil gets drained at the annual service, some is left in the oil coolers etc.)
No cambelt (no cam).
Most reliable car I've owned (fast but thirsty).
I'm on the first clutch at ~50K miles and no signs of trouble, have a spare just in case.
With the 10 years SVA rule, you can import a 2001 model. Production ran until 2002 so you have to wait another year for the very last.

[Twilight1]

rotarymazda said:

Most reliable car I've owned (fast but thirsty).

After of various Evos, Imprezas, Hondas and such the Mazda was indeed the most reliable of all of my vehicles. And i even drove it during the harsh cold winter in Finland.

[deeps]

I reckon 99% of the driving population don't know what a rotary engine is. Here's a quick link, there are some better animations though if you search for them.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/wankel_engine


Personally I think the wankel engine is a work of genius. I've had a few RX-7's running higher than standard boost and never had any serious problems with them, fantastic cars with amazing handling.

One little check I learnt was turning the AC on at tick over, and if the engine struggles to hold smooth revs it may well be a sign of poor compression or that it's thrown a corner tip (rotor tip).

[declasm]

I had one, one day I'll have another. Nothing else I've been in has the same sense of occasion as my old RX-7. Nothing to add to the great advice given above but I thought you might want to have a look at the thread I wrote about my experience:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...